Sustainable Development Goals

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development unanimously adopted by the UN’s 193 Member States at an historic summit in September 2015 at the United Nations, calls on countries to begin efforts to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the next 15 years. “The seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are our shared vision of humanity and a social contract between the world’s leaders and the people,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. They are a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity.

This universal agenda recognized the key role of cities and communities by including the SDG11 “Make Cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. With over half of the world population living in cities, the process of urbanization is one of the most significant global trends of the twenty-first century. It has been recognized as a transformative force which, if effectively steered and deployed, can potentially create an enabling environment for the world to overcome some of the major global challenges at present, including climate change, extreme poverty and rising inequalities.

CSU has been actively engaged in providing key recommendations and ideas to achieve SDG11. CSU co-organized high-level events feeding the intergovernmental process of the post-2015 development agenda between 2012-2015. These events brought experiences and solutions from national and local governments, designers and urban planners, UN representatives, the private sector, foundations, academia and civil society on how to deliver sustainable cities and communities.

CSU will continue to work closely with the UN and key partners in providing inputs to achieve SDG11.